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Penguin Power

A certain creature keeps popping up a lot lately. Penguins. Many moons ago, when I was but a teenage whippersnapper, I liked penguins. Not a lot, mind you, but enough. So much so that I got them on birthday cards. One year, a penguin even appeared on my birthday cake. I got stuffed penguins (not the taxidermy kind) as presents. An impromptu collection ensued. I enjoyed thinking about them. They had a comical quality, perpetually dressed for a formal occasion in such an inhospitable setting as the South Pole. It made them seem sort of glamorous in the animal world. I liked that they mated for life and that the male penguin took care of incubating the egg while the female trekked off to the sea to score some grub for the family.

But I discovered something.

Some penguins are very large.

I always thought they were small, around 24 inches tall. No. When I taught the school-aged class at church on Wednesday night, a life-size picture of a penguin decorated the far wall. Emperor penguins can reach 4 feet tall – 48 inches. I had no idea. It freaked me out. I don’t think I can watch the “Happy Feet” movies again. Eek! I am only 61 inches (ish) tall. I think it would be bizarre to suddenly come upon a large, flightless bird who could practically look you in the eye. Probably my first instinct would be to drop-kick one in self-defense, thereby establishing the precedent of “I’m the boss”. Please don’t sic PETA on me. The likelihood of me encountering a penguin without a plexiglass shield between us is next to nil.

On to day 24 of Janathon. I taught the kettlebells class today. I followed a routine I created last year called “What Can You Do in 40 Seconds?” It’s a set of stationary circuits, 40 seconds on and 20 seconds of rest. The first set is mostly arm exercises. The second is body weight exercises – mountain climbers, crunches, even the dreaded jump squat. The third is mostly leg stuff like lunges and more squats. Since I have so much adrenalin from leading the class, I never know if the workout is too hard or too easy. Seemed to be about right, from the feedback I got. I’ve led the class a couple of times before. This time I wasn’t so nervous, despite skipping an entire exercise in one of the circuits.

Alright, kiddos. Enjoy the weekend, but behave yourselves. Otherwise Guido ( see mugshot above) will have to give you a swirly.